Kaspersky Lab announces the release of Kaspersky Security Scan – a new utility designed to check the security status of your computer. It’s ideal for users who currently do not use any anti-virus solution, or who have doubts about their current security software and seek a second opinion. This utility also introduces new users to Kaspersky Lab’s industry-leading security technologies. Kaspersky Security Scan is easy to install and remove, works side-by-side with other anti-virus solutions and, if it finds any problems, advises users on an appropriate full-scale protection solution such as Kaspersky Anti-Virus, Kaspersky Internet Security or Kaspersky PURE.

Nikolay Grebennikov, Kaspersky Lab's Chief Technology Officer, comments: "The personal computer, be it desktop or mobile, is still the primary communications device for the majority of consumers. The alarming fact is that millions of PCs around the world have inferior protection installed or use no security software at all. Kaspersky Security Scan is the perfect solution for such devices. It checks the security status of users' PCs, informs them of any threats discovered there and helps to find the proper real-time protection solution from Kaspersky Lab."

A worldwide consumer survey conducted by Harris Interactive in March 2012 shows that at least 15% of Windows PC owners do not use any security software to protect their digital assets. At the same time 60% of users are worried about the confidentiality of their most critical financial data, and 80% have directly faced a security threat at least once. Despite the rise of internet-enabled mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets, the traditional PC is still the number one digital device for the majority of consumers, most frequently used to go online and store personal and work data.

Kaspersky Security Scan is a small utility, optimized for quick installation with no additional questions asked and no reboots required. It is also compatible with other security solutions, providing you a second opinion on your security status. Right after installation Kaspersky Security Scan is ready to check your system, scanning for malicious programs, the status of Windows security settings and vulnerabilities in popular programs. By default, a system scan is performed automatically three times a week, twice in background mode, but these settings can be modified by the user. It is also possible to perform either a quick or full scan of the system.

After the scan the user receives a full report, displaying all detected security threats in several categories. The user is also advised about the best available fully operative real-time security solution from Kaspersky Lab, which will help to cure the infected system and provide advanced, always-on protection. Although Kaspersky Security scan is able to detect the majority of the widespread malicious programs, it is not designed to provide full system protection and detect some of the most complex malware, such as rootkits and bootkits.

According to a recent consumer survey data, 60% of users worldwide prefer to use free security software. However, such solutions may not provide the highest level of protection. For example, the recent independent evaluation of free security software, conducted by the reputable AV-Test.org testing lab, showed that the most popular free anti-virus software completely missed a significant number of malicious programs in a real-world scenario. For users of such free products, Kaspersky Security Scan may become a valuable instrument to periodically check the state of security, as well as previewing and comparing the protection capabilities from one of the world’s leading commercial security software vendors.

Kaspersky Security Scan is available for free download at Kaspersky Lab’s official website. To learn more about the utility, visit this page: www.kaspersky.com/security-scan